This year, we continued on our three year journey of transformation to become the clear choice. We stimulated growth in our business, turned the spotlight back up on our Values and reflected on and communicated our Purpose

KPMG and The Consumer Goods Forum have conducted a study of 539 executives from the consumer goods industry. Top line growth is the key goal for almost everyone in the industry, but what are the most prevalent levers for driving it?

Makinson Cowell joins KPMG

Makinson Cowell joins KPMG:

Bob Cowell: Makinson Cowell is a business that helps major listed companies across Europe deal with their institutional shareholders. So that means we help them, communicate with those shareholders, we help them decide what to say to them, we help to decide when they should say things, and then we feed back the views of those shareholders into the boardroom, usually once a year.

The importance of what we do for listed companies is that institutional shareholders are very important to them for three reasons. Firstly, they vote. Secondly, they are the only source of debt or equity capital going forward, and thirdly, and perhaps most importantly for some executives, they actually determine the share price. So, institutional investors matter and that’s exactly the, the patch on which we play.

Simon Collins: I would describe Makinson Cowell as a unique business that provides real, sometimes difficult advice to the boardrooms of big companies and small companies on what their investors think. It can be very intimate, trusted advice, sometimes in circumstances where it's not popular, but it's always independent and it's always high-integrity advice.

The decision to acquire Makinson Cowell came about partly by chance, as these things often do, but actually it's the fulfilment of a dream that we've had for a long time, to round out the advice we give our clients about their balance sheet. Complementing our existing debt advisory capability with the Makinson Cowell proposition of giving independent advice on equity, on what institutional investors think, together we give advice on the whole balance sheet. That's a very powerful combination.

The reaction from our clients has been incredibly gratifying. I've spoken to a lot of our FTSE 100 clients in particular – CEOs, chairmen – and they’ve said a number of things. First of all they've said, “Well done for actually acquiring the business.” Secondly, “Please don't change too much about what they do,” but also fantastic assessment of how well the fit will work, how the cultures will work together, and actually CEOs, and chairs, and finance directors of our clients saying, “We will do more with you as a result of this.”

Bob Cowell: It’s exciting for us that since the deal has been announced, new opportunities are already beginning to emerge. For example, we pitched last week to a major company in Australia. We wouldn’t have done that on our own. Were going jointly into a FTSE 100 company boardroom to talk about debt and equity, which we think is unique.

In fact the chairman of one major bank said that he was far more likely to use us going forward as part of KPMG than he would us being an independent boutique.

Makinson Cowell is one of the leading independent equity advisors in Europe. The acquisition brings together KPMG’s debt advisory capability with the equity services provided by Makinson Cowell to create a leading independent capital advisory business. In particular, the combination gives us unique insight into what institutional investors think. This means we can provide you with truly independent advice across your entire capital structure and balance sheet – a key differentiator from other advisors in the market.

Watch the video above to find out more about Makinson Cowell becoming part of KPMG from Simon Collins, Chairman, KPMG in the UK and Bob Cowell, Director, Makinson Cowell.

KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International") is a Swiss entity. Member firms of the KPMG network of independent firms are affiliated with KPMG International. KPMG International provides no client services. No member firm has any authority to obligate or bind KPMG International or any other member firm vis-à-vis third parties, nor does KPMG International have any such authority to obligate or bind any member firm.